Sole for footwear



May 29, 194s. b. D. GOLDSTEN 2,377,144

I A i SOLE FOR FooTwEAR Filed April 28, 1944 ATTORNEY Patented May 29, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOLE FOR FOOTWEAR David D. Goldstein, Pittsburgh, Pa. y

Application April 28, 1944, Serial No. 533,143

2 Claims.

My invention relates to soles for footwear and has particular reference to soles made of brous materials.

The main object of my invention is to provide a sole for shoes, boots, sandals, etc. which will be strong and durable, while being inexpensive and ornamental. I have found that avery good material for making such soles is natural rallia which is very ilexible and forms soft and flexible soles, possessing good wearing properties.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sole of relatively large thickness while being light and exible. I form my sole for this purpose of fiat braids prepared from strands of rama, the braids being tightly wound side by side,A forming a thick layer, two or more of `such layers being placed one on top of the other to form a sole.

Still another object of my invention to pro.- vide a heel for my sole also formed of raflia braids, the braids being so wound that the ends of the braid are concealed within bends of the adjacent layers so that there are no exposed ends of the braids to become loosened or unraveled.

My soles are especially suitable for use with the shoes and similar footwear made from raa braids in accordance with my invention disclosed in my patent application, Serial No. 510,469, iiled November 16, 1943'.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specification and drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a raiiia braid in the process of its preparation;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of my sole with a heel made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. '4 is a bottom plan view of the same;

Fig. 5 is a fractional view of an intermediate layer of the sole;

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing a method of stitching the braids.

The sole according to my invention is made of strands of railia cr similar highly iiexible and strong natural ber. Three strands 5 of such material is used to prepare a flat braid 6, Fig. 1, the length of the braid being preferably such as to allow the use of la single piece for a complete sole or layer of a sole. The thickness of the strands 5 is selected according to the desired thickness of the sole. I prefer to use braids made of three strands interwoven together as shown because such a braid is relatively tight and strong, does not readily unravel like an ordinary round rope, and can be more conveniently formed into a nat surface for a sole, heel or shoe.

The braid or band is tightly wound around a central core 'I formed of an elongated loop around the inner end 8 of the braid. The braid is wound side by side, so that the total thickness of one layer Ill or II of the sole is equal to the width of the braid. The edges of the adjacent turns of the braid are sewed together or fas' tened together by other suitable means. The successive turns of the braid are wound in he form of elongated loops to obtain the required contour of the sole, the other end I2 of the braid being attached to the side of the preceding turn.

While a single layer of such braid can be used as a sole for a shoe, boot, sandal, slipper, etc. I prefer to use two such layers I0 and II. To obtain greater flexibility of the composite sole, I place an intermediate layer I4 between the other two layers, the intermediate layer, shown in detail in Fig. 5, is made oi a similar braid but is wound flatwise, i. e., with the edges of the successive layers abutting each other. The three layers are fastened together in any suitable manvner but I prefer to sew them together at the edges, using thin strands I4 of raia for this purpose, as shown in detail in Fig. 6. Such railia strands blend with the raia braid and become practically undistinguishable in the product.

The heel I5 is also prepared from raftia, preferably from a single braid or band as shown in Fig. 4. In making such a heel it is desirable to avoid having exposed ends of the braids and for this reason the braid may be wound in the form of U-shaped portions; and outer U-shaped portion formed of three turns with the outer end I6 of the braid inserted inside a bend between the two outer bands, and an inner U-shaped portion with the inner end II inserted between two outer braids, the outer turns or braids of the inner U-portion forming inner turns or braids of the outer U-portion. n

The sole prepared according to my invention of raia braids, is very flexible so that it will take a natural shape shown in dotted lines I8 in Fig. 1 when the sole is connected with the upper of a shoe or other footwear.

It will be understood that various features and principles of each of the embodiments of the invention above described or referred to may be utilized or substituted in the other embodiments.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certain particular preferred examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the inven' tion, that Various changes and further modificationsvmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A sole for footwear comprising two main layers, each layer being formed of a flat braid made of at least three strands of a highly flexible fibrous material, the braid being tightly wound side by side and sewed together at the edges, the edges forming outer surfaces of the layers, the layers being therefore relatively thick; and a third layer placed between the two other layers, the third layer being formed of a flat braid of a highly flexible natural fibrous material tightly wound atwise with the abutting edges being sewed together thereby forming a relatively thin and flat layer, the three layers being sewed together at the edges.

2. A sole for a footwear comprising two main layers, each layer being formed of a flat braid made of atleast three relatively thick strands of a flexible brous material, the layers being wound edgewise; and a layer made of relatively thin braid of a fibrous material place flatwise between the main layers, the three layers being sewed together at the edges.

DAVID D. GOLDSTEIN. 

